The Killer
by pantedgieQueen13
Summary: It all started with a sneeze. A sneeze started the chaos. Rated T for some sparse cursing and blood. Not for the faint of heart. sonamy-ish
1. Part 1: It's Not My Time

It all started with a sneeze. A sneeze started the chaos.

"AAACHOO!" Sonic heard the echo of it in his head. He was in the waiting room at the doctor's office, staring at his knees. Tails and Amy and Knuckles were with him, their body heat pushing in on him, making him feel nervous and calm at the same time. How could a sneeze come to this?

"Sonic?" The nurse standing in the doorway was looking at her clipboard. Sonic smiled weakly to himself as he rose to go. His friends followed, like a train's cars follow its engine. He was the engine…wasn't he? How long it had been, since he'd been to the doctor's? A year? Seven months? The name 'Sonic' must be rusty on his nurse's tongue.

The woman told Sonic to sit on the cot while she did some routine tests. Sonic's friends watched from chairs, or at least Tails and Amy did. Knuckles was standing against the wall, flexing his fingers beneath his mits. All Sonic wanted to do was go home. He smelled…nothing. There were no smells in the doctor's office. His breathing hitched. He was tired. He wanted to go to sleep.

"The doctor will be with you in just a minute," the nurse stated before marking things on her clipboard and exiting. Sonic looked at his friends and smiled. The palms of his hands were beginning to get very itchy. He wanted to scratch, but he withheld the urge for now.

It may have started with a sneeze, but it was so much more than that. It hurt to eat. Sonic could barely swallow a chilidog, much less actually eat a meal! He hadn't told his friends, but somehow they knew. Somehow they knew.

Tails and Amy were both restless, but it seemed Knuckles was almost falling asleep. Sonic wanted to comfort his friends, tell a joke, laugh a little—even nervously! But he felt that if he were to open his mouth, he would be sick. So he stayed mute. Forever impatient, he kicked his heels against the back of the cot, and started a rhythm. Tails started tapping to the same rhythm, and before long, Amy joined in. Knuckles rolled his eyes, chuckling mutely.

When the doctor came in, the beat stopped instantly. Tails jumped, his fox tails stiff and startled. Amy's eyes were wide. Knuckles swallowed. The doctor told Sonic that he would have to get a blood test. Sonic complied, although he'd never had a blood test. He signed a form. Then, the doctor called the nurse, and they stuck a needle in his arm. Sonic coughed, tasting blood, his body shaking. Tails and Amy held him as he breathed heavily, fearing the pain in his arm and the thumping in his head.

After the blood drawing was done, Sonic lay back on the cot, faint and lightheaded. Amy held his hand, and for once, Sonic didn't shrink away. The doctor said he would go test the blood. He asked Sonic if he was okay, and Sonic nodded yes. When the doctor left, Sonic closed his eyes, soothed by the gentle presence of his friends.

When the doctor came back, he was with the nurse…and he had some bad news.

"Unfortunately, Sonic," the doctor was saying, "you have a very rare, and fatal, disease."

Amy gasped, squeezing his hand. Sonic, sitting up now, could only swallow. "Is there a cure?" He asked slowly.

"There is no cure," the nurse replied. Amy sobbed. Sonic shrunk away from her, from that noise. _Stop,_ he wanted to tell her firmly, _stop crying! Stop crying, dammit! Stop!_ "There are antibiotics we can give you that will hold off the disease, but…"

"The disease," the doctor interrupted, "will kill you slowly, you see. It is a disease that makes you allergic to everything. Pollen, dairy, nuts, ect, and even the particles in water!"

"So, what then?" Tails murmured, his voice suddenly very small, suddenly very his age. "He has to drink!"

"Yes. Give him distilled water. That should be fine. The disease's killing blow is the victim either becomes allergic to the other gases in the air he breathes and suffocate from lack of pure oxygen, or he will starve to death." The doctor sighed. "There is nothing more we can do, except measure you for a casket."

There was a deathly silence then. The silence that often accompanies death, before the tears. Amy was shaking violently, still holding his hand. Knuckles wasn't even blinking. Tails had wrapped his tails around himself, as if to shield himself against sorrow, like he had done when he was a little kit. Sonic looked at his friends slowly, then looked at the messengers.

"How long do I have?" He asked, his voice the weakest it had ever been in his life.

"A month, tops," the nurse replied, "if you come to us for regular antibiotics and blood tests."

"Okay. Thank you." Sonic replied. He had to other words to say. He stood, still woozy from blood loss, only to find a stable hand on his shoulder. It was Knuckles, he knew, and he felt glad. Tears came to his eyes, and he accepted the crushing hug from his friends. Tails and Amy squeezed his body to themselves, and Sonic wrapped his arms around them, bringing them closer as they cried into his shoulders. The salt water burned his skin beneath his fur, but he let them cry.

He had no words to comfort them. Not now, not ever again.

* * *

><p>The illness at first was not rough with him. Sonic was only allergic to pollen, peanuts, tree nuts, and dairy. He spent every minute with his friends, doing the things they wanted to do. He tolerated roller coasters that were too slow, a tunnel of love that almost made him sick several times (a small child with no business there had smeared peanut butter on the seat), and a Ferris wheel that made him afraid of his own shadow for its unstableness. He even tolerated going to the beach with them…until the salt air made his eyes burn like fire and he had to leave. He hardly left any time for himself the first week, so that he was exhausted when he returned home, but happy, because he was with his friends and nothing else mattered. That was the first week.<p>

By the second week, Sonic was allergic to almost every kind of meat. Even the smell of a hot dog stand would make his throat close up nigh completely so that he had trouble breathing. The air seemed thick with pollen, and he became allergic to smoke, so that even inhaling a whiff from a passing smoker made him double over from the cramps. Sonic was also allergic to wheat, soy, and gluten now. And it was around this time he started dating Amy Rose. He did it because it made her happy. And he wanted to make her happy. She should have the right to say that he was her boyfriend before he died. It was Wednesday by the time Sonic realized that he was wasting his life away sleeping. So he simply stopped going to bed at night.

It was Thursday of the second week that he was with Tails in the small kitchen of the fox's house. Tails was making breakfast and Sonic was sitting at the table making a house of cards with trembling hands; unsuccessful because he didn't have a steady hand, so the house would tumble down every few seconds. There was a box of tissues nearby, in case Sonic suddenly became allergic to something new. This was common. Sonic would suddenly find himself allergic to something else, almost every second of every day.

"I have to go in for a blood test today," Sonic stated in a beaten voice. This was mostly how he sounded nowadays, his attitude from days of old gone, except for the occasional circumstance. "I'm allergic to my medication—again—so I have to get a new one."

"Hmmm," Tails was fixing eggs and putting toast into the toaster. "So?"

"Can you…" Sonic looked at his little brother preparing food, and bit his lip with sorrow to imagine him doing it alone, "can you come with me, maybe? If you're not too busy?"

"You sound afraid!" Tails chuckled, turning around to face his brother with bright eyes. "You've never been afraid of anything!"

"Water! Water," Sonic reminded him, smiling, his eyes bright and pure and full of hope. He hadn't eaten in ten days, but with a smile on his face, he looked better somehow.

"Right," Tails laughed. "How could I forget?"

"But, yes," Sonic chuckled, the laughter moving his body more than his heart ever would. "I am afraid…kinda. In a weird way." Tails looked at him oddly, and then went back to preparing his breakfast. Bacon was sizzling on the stove, and Sonic moved to cover his muzzle with a tissue. "They're gonna stick a needle in my arm—the same place every time—and I don't like it. I mean, I'm used to it, but that doesn't mean I gotta like it." His voice was muffled, nasal, as he was plugging his nose against the smell of the meat.

Tails noticed and flushed. "Oh. Right. I'm sorry."

"S'okay," Sonic responded, waving it off and accidentally knocking over the house of cards for the umpteenth time. He smiled, starting to gather the cards up and put them back into something of a deck. "Will you go with me?"

"Sure." Tails replied, flipping his eggs onto a plate nearby and taking the bacon off the fryer.

"They're measuring me for a coffin today, too," Sonic added nonchalantly as Tails retrieved his toast and sat down to eat.

"What do you mean?" asked the fox, staring at Sonic in horror.

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "What I say. They're measuring me for a coffin!"

"Sonic! That's awful!" Tails cried in absolute misery.

"And blunt! Talk about a rude awakening!" Sonic laughed behind the tissue. Tails ate his bacon only to provide Sonic with some relief. He felt unsettled by what he was hearing. But suddenly, Sonic became serious again, his eyes darker and more serious all of a sudden. "But I don't want a coffin," he spoke in a serene but sorrowful manner, "I want to be cremated. And I want _you_ to tell them."

"_What_?" Tails almost swallowed his fork in surprise. "_Me?_ Why don't _you_ tell them! You're older!"

"I don't want to tell them. I'm afraid," Sonic blew his nose noisily into the tissue and crumbled it up into his palm, the ball of white nestled safely inside his gloves. "I'm afraid that when I tell them, I'll cry." He looked at Tails, his eyes soft and pleading. Tails couldn't help it. He was enthralled by Sonic's misery, so he listened. "And I don't want to cry…for them. I want my dignity."

"Okay, Sonic," Tails nodded obediently. "I'll tell them. For you."

"Good." Sonic pushed himself away from the table as if he was too full to eat any more. He grunted as he got up and stretched until he was nearly bending over backwards. Tails paid him no mind as he did this and went right on eating because he didn't want to understand that Sonic was frightfully skinny. "I'll go get ready, then! You finish eating," he gave Tails a scolding look as he went into the bathroom. "Every last bite. I don't want to see a crumb on that plate when I come out!"

"Sure," Tails smiled nervously as Sonic closed the bathroom door.

Inside the safety of the small bathroom, Sonic opened up the cabinet beneath the sink and took out a hairdryer. It was silver and nothing very special—probably a reject that Amy had left here by accident, or otherwise thrown out—but it would do the job Sonic needed it to do. He found the plug and unwound the cord, putting the machine on low. The mechanical whine of the handheld device filled the bathroom and echoed in Sonic's ears. He moved it over his body evenly, paying particular attention to his sides, chest, and belly. He moved it over each of his arms, smiling faintly at the way the heat made his fur stick up like a prickle brush. He ran the warm air through his quills and around his neck and cheeks. The rest of the world didn't know he was dying, and the few who knew were sworn to secrecy.

He didn't want the world to know he was dead until it was too late.

When Sonic came out of the bathroom and Tails was putting his dish in the sink, the fox had to marvel at the sight he saw. Besides a slight discoloration in the fur around his ears and thighs, Sonic looked as if he'd just had a decent meal. His fur was fluffy and his chest looked proud. His quills were perfect. It was so hard to believe the slight gurgling, the quiet noises of discomfort from his stomach. For he looked to be only a little bit underweight, instead of severely, as he was. "I weigh 24 pounds," he mused with a chuckle. "Would you believe it, if you saw me? And didn't know?"

"No," Tails admitted, shocked. "Looking as you do, I can barely believe I'm hearing your stomach!"

Sonic looked down, then, embarrassed. He sighed, and then looked back up. "Are you ready?" He questioned with a typical showman's smile.

Tails gave a thumbs-up. "Only if you are!"

"Yep!" Sonic returned the gesture. "Let's do it to it!"

Tails felt himself choke up. It felt horrible to know that he would no longer hear that phrase. There were only four weeks in a month. Four short weeks. Sonic only had eighteen days left, if he was lucky. Eighteen days, and Tails would no longer hear that phrase, that laugh, that voice. Before Tails could burst into tears, Sonic scooped Tails up in his bony arms and sped away towards the doctor's office, the wind pulling his fur away from him. Tails touched Sonic's chest and felt his heart beating beneath the skin and bone. And, unable to help himself, he began to cry.

Eighteen days, and he would never again have the feeling of Sonic speed. No one ever would…again.

* * *

><p>It was the Monday afternoon of the third week. Sonic had just been at Amy's house all morning, and now he was spending some time with Knuckles on Angel Island. Both of them were sitting with their legs crossed before the giant rotating Master Emerald, watching their distorted, discolored reflections in its surface, making faces and laughing at each other. It had just now grown pensive, as each hero pondered the future.<p>

"It's so nice here," Sonic mused sleepily.

"Yes it is," Knuckles agreed.

"I can see why you like it." Sonic closed his eyes, just for a moment, even if doing so in that moment risked sleep for days. "The glow is so warm." He felt the wind caress his cheeks and opened his eyes before he could fall asleep. He was going on roughly ten days without a wink of shuteye. It was slowly taking its toll on him, but he didn't allow himself a thread to care about it.

"Yeah," Knuckles yawned suddenly, stretching his mitted fists above him into the air.

"Did I interrupt a nap?" Sonic, giggling, swiveled his head to look at the red echidna, appraising him with wise eyes.

"I should say the same for you," Knuckles teased. "Ten days without sleep? Bummer." He yawned again.

Sonic turned away, feigning injury. "We waste our _lives_ sleeping, Knux!"

"No use livin so tired."

"Or so hungry," Sonic smirked at Knuckles, who flushed promptly. "I definitely heard what I thought I just heard,"

"No, no," Knux reassured him hesitantly.

"_Oh_ yes I did. Now, I've come to know that noise, and I should know it better than anyone on the planet, and I know I do. So that's _definitely_ what I just heard."

"Well, you're wrong."

"Distinctly! Distinctly as a whistle in the wind!" Sonic pointed to his ears with pride. "These babies don't lie."

Presently, Knuckles threw up his hands. "All right, so I'm hungry, okay? I'll admit it!" He was growling, more out of frustration than anger. Sonic listened, his ungloved fingers pressing against his temples, his eyes serene as he listened to the echidna's outburst. "What should I do?" He demanded of the dying hedgehog.

For a long time, Sonic said nothing. He shifted, making himself more comfortable, stretching his legs out before him, his arms supporting him. His gloves were on his thigh, but they slipped off now. Had he just taken them off, or were they always there? Knuckles stared at the shadows of welts on Sonic's hands and, harder to see but there, around his ankles where the fabric he was allergic to had rubbed and irritated the skin. Then, Sonic sighed deeply, a sigh that seemed to move his soul, and said at last: "Never deny yourself. Never deny. Life will be better if you eat when hungry, drink when thirsty, and love when lonely. That is what life has taught me. These fourteen days have taught me."

Knuckles stared at his friend, shocked to hear him speak so. Sonic's voice was like a poet's. He truly was tired and weak—he hadn't lost sense, but he'd somehow lost his guard over this private, soulful part of himself. Then, he told Sonic, almost pleading: "I won't. Not in front of you. I'd be the biggest dick ever."

Sonic chuckled. "Eat, Knux. You make me worry when you don't."

"So don't you know it's even?"

"Knuckles," Sonic faced the echidna head-on. "Please."

"All right," Knuckles stood and stretched. "I'll be right back." He turned around and walked down the steps of the temple and disappeared into the forest.

Sonic watched him go, then switched positions again. On his hands and knees, he crawled over to the Emerald and placed both his hands on it. The shock of life rode through him as easily as the wind and he sighed with longing, his eyes shut tightly as he let the Master Emerald rejuvenate him like nothing else in this world could.

Pure Chaos. Pure life.

It wasn't long before Knuckles returned with a smile on his face, full and sated at long last. He sat down beside Sonic, muffling a burp into his fist. Sonic, who had his knees curled into his chest, swiveled his ear and turned his head toward his friend. "Yo. Feel better now, Knuckie?"

Knuckles shoved Sonic upon hearing the pet name he hated. "Yeah, sure,"

"How long this time?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow. At Knuckles' stunned face, he laughed rudely.

"_What_?" Knuckles snarled.

"Like ya don't know," Sonic rubbed a finger under his nose, and then reached over to tickle Knuckles. "How long since ya last ate, silly! How many days didja starve this time for 'protection of the giant floating gem of doom,' hmmm?"

Knuckles giggled and pushed Sonic away with his feet. "Stop! It wasn't too bad. Maybe a day or two."

"Mmmm." Sonic nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Does it feel nice?"

Knuckles nodded, patting his belly.

"Good." Sonic smiled. Knuckles noticed tears were coming to his friend's eyes. But he turned away, staring at the Master Emerald. A few tears fell, but not many. Not many at all. Sonic had never been one for tears. Knuckles rested a heavy mitted hand on the younger one's shoulder, and then moved closer so he could put his arm around Sonic and rope him in towards him for a friendly hug.

"You all right, Sonic?"

Sonic sniffled. "It's hard to be brave," he admitted with a shaky smile, resting his head against Knuckles' shoulder for a moment. "It's so hard. I mean, I never thought that I—"

"Shhhh," Knuckles soothed with uncharacteristic kindness. "Let it out if you have to. It's all right."

"I'll miss you, Knuckles."

"I'll miss you too, Sonic."

There was a long silence. Sonic was shaking from the effort of keeping back tears, even though Knuckles had told him to cry. But he couldn't very well waste time crying, either. He took a deep breath to rein his voice in somewhat and looked at his friend, the Guardian of the Master Emerald. "Hey, Knux?"

Knuckles looked at him. "What is it?" Their faces were close to each other, because of the way they were sitting, but neither male thought this was inappropriate at all. Sonic could smell Knuckles' breath, and he tried hard not to. It smelled good. It smelled like food. And Sonic was starving.

The blue hedgehog sighed, stifling a yawn. "When I'm—gone," he felt Knuckles shiver in revulsion at the word, "—I want you to…to take care of Tails and Amy. D'ya think you can do that?" He searched the echidna's violet eyes for an answer. "D'ya think you can protect them, as well as I'd protect them?"

Knuckles touched Sonic's forehead with his own, not thinking this might be inappropriate, were anyone else to see. Despite all their squabbles over the years, he thought of Sonic as part of his family. "I'll do it," he replied softly, staring into the green eyes of his dying friend, "I'll try. But I don't think they'll accept me as a substitute for you." Sonic blinked, and the tears began to flow. He shook violently, his lips curving and trembling against trying not to cry. Knuckles put his other arms around Sonic and drew him close. Sonic buried his face in Knuckles' shoulder, unable to stop himself from crying any longer. Knuckles felt Sonic go limp against him as the blue hedgehog cried and cried, the sobs so deafening and wrong.

When Sonic had calmed a little, Knuckles pulled him away and took his wrist between his fingers. He had to be more gentle than he was used to being—Sonic's bones felt brittle, as if they would break in an instant if too much pressure were applied. Slowly, he pressed Sonic's hand to the surface of the Master Emerald.

Sonic felt his welts burning as the fabric he was allergic to held him, but as he felt the electric current of life passing through him from the Emerald, he felt better. Knuckles smiled, watching Sonic take pleasure in this.

"Why?" Sonic asked dreamily. "Why does it feel like this?"

"According to ancient echidna lore," Knuckles explained patiently, "the Master Emerald gave life, not only to the Chaos Emeralds, but to every living being."

Sonic looked at him oddly.

"Well, it's just a theory." Knuckles shrugged.

"You know," Sonic mused, furrowing his brow. "Even though I'm dying, I _still_ don't believe in God."


	2. Part 2: Life in Chaos

Monday night of the third week. Sonic was awake, though not fully, his mind wandering as he drifted in and out of direct consciousness. He was dying, that much was certain. But…how much? How long? How fast?

His stomach growled, enough to startle him awake in the dark as he stood at his open window, breathing in the night air and shivering in the cold wind. He groaned, mostly out of habit—the hunger was so common to him now, it hardly bothered him—and pressed his forehead against the wall, closing his eyes for a brief moment and enjoying this simple vision of life.

"That isn't wise, you know, Hedgehog," mused a voice emanating from the darkness, "you might catch cold, or let in mosquitoes."

"Heh. Thanks for your concern," Sonic slowly straightened up and turned around to lean against the wall, his feet hardly supporting him as he looked slyly up at his intruder, "but I've had more blood drawn than I can safely think about, and I don't worry about losing a little more…Shadow." He smirked, green eyes alive with the fire of the power of the dying. "You can't seriously be afraid of a little vampire bug."

"Certainly not!" Shadow hissed, straightening with the insult. "I—I simply didn't want _you_ to catch your death and die!"

Sonic's face fell in an instant, so that Shadow had to wonder what was going on that he'd missed. He didn't like paying attention to the doings of Sonic and friends, but when he had to be involved, he liked to know what was going on. And he had to know. "What's wrong?" He demanded. "I cannot have touched a nerve! I was only joking!"

Sonic sighed. "Well, you saved me the trouble of coming to you, I suppose. So you deserve to know what's going on." Shadow settled in to listen, crossing his arms over his chest. Sonic rose from his slumped position against the wall, turning his back on Shadow to close the window. In the moonlight, his form looked eerie and thin as a spindly tree. The dark hedgehog found himself disturbed by this, albeit unwillingly, as he listened to his counterpart's uncharacteristically morbid voice.

"I'm dying," Sonic's voice sliced through the quiet as easily as an arrow flies through the air. "I…I have a rare disease that is untreatable. They—the doctors—have given me medication that'll help me live longer. But…" he cleared his throat, still facing the window, his ears drooping. "…I'm dying. _Slowly_. But I'm dying." He clenched his teeth together as his body began to shake wildly as if from fever. Shadow knew better than to provide comfort and stood stunned in the dark.

"You're serious?" He asked at last. Sonic nodded. Shadow sighed. "Okay, well…" Actually, he had nothing to say! Shadow the Hedgehog—speechless! Well, it happened often, but still. It was because he chose to be without voice, not because he had his voice stolen from him in surprise!

"What?" Sonic demanded, turning to face him. Now that Shadow could see him clearly, he noticed the dark circles under Sonic's thin cheek fur, and the bones stark on his neck as he breathed shallowly. He really was as thin as all that, though he didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. "What is it?" His voice was softer, a tone Shadow had never heard from his lips, except maybe if he was talking to a child, that is.

"I—I don't know what to say." Shadow admitted. "Is…is there any supernatural cure?"

"None that I know of."

"The Emeralds…?"

"Gone, I suspect. I could never collect them all in time."

"Rings?"

"I couldn't tell you."

"Sonic, are you giving up?"

Sonic jumped. "Shadow…there's nothing I can do."

"Well, then," Shadow reached at his hip and took out a pistol. He loaded it and cocked it, pointing it at Sonic's head. "This'll be fast. Don't move,"

Before Shadow could blink, the gun was out of his hands and on the table, the barrel clogged with white glove. Sonic stood, one hand without a glove, against the window once more. He was lifting his hand up against the moon, the bone easily shining through the nude fur. "I don't want to die," Sonic explained. "I never wanted to die. If—if I had to," he added, "I always swore I'd take Eggman down with me. As it is, I think he's sick, too, but with nothing fatal." He began to cough and moan, clutching his waist. The gun was smoking around the edges of the glove clogging its barrel. "There's nothing I can do…but live." He looked at Shadow, wetness appearing around the corners of his eyes. "So far, I've done impossible things. Days without sleep. Days without a scrap of food." His stomach grumbled loudly to attest to that fact, and he cradled it in acknowledgment. "I don't want to die. But I have to live." He glanced up at Shadow, innocence betrayed on his grown-up person. "Does…does that make sense?"

"As much sense as you'll ever make, Sonic." Shadow replied with a faint smile. He took his gun off the table and held it tenderly in his hands as if he were holding a tiny, fragile newborn kitten. "The world will miss you."

"Don't tell anyone," Sonic whispered, his gloved hand covering his eye. "You're the only one who knows, who wasn't with me That Day."

"That Day?" Shadow repeated with the same inflection.

"The Day I was told." Sonic explained, now lifting his other hand to his other eye and parting his fingers to peek through them. "Promise you won't tell the masses. Promise."

"All right. As much as my word is worth, I promise." Shadow rethought that, and placed his hand over his heart, a bit dramatic for his character. "On Maria's soul, I promise."

Sonic smiled, knowing that an oath on Maria was the strongest oath he'd ever get out of Shadow in any lifetime or alternate reality. "Thanks, Shadow." Then, he began to giggle.

Shadow stepped back, thinking him mad, when a small voice drew him back again. "Shadow?"

"Yes?" Shadow didn't want to linger here. Already, this place, this house, smelled of death and decay. He wanted with all his heart to leave. He was afraid. And he was scared to admit it.

"Do what Maria wanted you to do," Sonic was staring at the moon again, his green eyes reflecting flawlessly the visage of the moon like pools of perfect, clear water. "After I'm gone, do what she wanted. Protect this world. Protect it with your life." Then, weakly—weaker than any words he'd ever spoke in his life, he added: "Please."

Shadow nodded. "I will, Sonic. I will."

As Shadow left, he pried Sonic's glove out from the barrel of his gun and threw it away, doubting Sonic would want it back.

Sitting on top of the garbage, the white glove fluttered like a ghost.

What its owner would too soon become.

* * *

><p><em>Colder than Ice<em>

_The World falls apart_

_Cold like a Stone_

_The spell on the Souls_

_Colder than ice_

_Your hand on my Heart_

_A world made of stone_

_Let tenderness freeze_

* * *

><p>"Arrgh, Amy!"<p>

"Please, Sonic. Just one more bite."

"Amy, I can't. I—"

"Sonic," Amy's eyes teared as she pleaded with him. "_Please_."

Sonic stared at the silver spoon of watery soup hovering a few feet from his reluctant lips. The soup had some lentil and beans in it, which he was highly allergic to. His throat began to burn just from imagining the sensation…! But, he wanted to please her. With a huff, he opened his mouth, closing his eyes as he felt the spoon go in, his lips automatically closing as the spoon was withdrawn.

Sonic swallowed without bothering to chew and immediately began to cough violently, holding his throat over the sink. Amy set the soup aside for now as the blue hedgehog chased down the food with a glass of distilled water or five, gasping for breath now that he could breathe easily again.

"I'm sorry, Sonic," Amy looked at the floor, wringing her hands. "I thought it would do you good."

"The last three—spoonfuls, didn't—do me, any good," Sonic panted "what, made you, think—one more—would?"

Amy smiled apologetically, drawing him close for a hug. "Instinct? C'mon, Sonic. We both know you're _starving_. A little pampering aught to do you good."

Sonic rolled his eyes. As true as the fact of his starvation—and the feeling of his immense hunger—was, he couldn't be expected to eat much, now that he was allergic to nearly every kind of foodstuff. He pulled her against him and leaned forward to kiss her deeply, his lips tingling because of his allergy to her lip-gloss. He smiled within the kiss, feeling Amy melt against him, so he was startled when the girl pushed him away sternly.

"All right," Amy brushed herself off. "That's enough of that."

"…Amy?" Sonic was so confused right now, he could've rolled over and played dead like a possum. What exactly was she up to? His confused look faded when she rounded on him in anger.

"Sonic!" She shouted. "It's Tuesday!"

"So?" Sonic flattened his ears, shy of being yelled at. "Does that mean it's 'yell at Sonic' day? Ow."

"Sonic!" Amy stomped her feet. "Be serious!" He raised an eyebrow. "How do you feel about me?" She demanded of him, her hands on her hips.

The kitchen was silent. Sonic drew her close to him, despite the tingle in her fingers that meant she was hungering for her hammer, and cradled her cheek in his gloved palm. "I love you," he said simply. "I always have, and I always will."

"Great. Then will you get off?" Amy snorted.

"Wha…?" Sonic tried to kiss her again. "I thought this is what you always wanted—"

"Ah ha!" Amy held up a finger to his lips to keep him from coming at her with them. "There we go! Those are the keywords!"

"What are?" Sonic cocked his head until all of his quills fell sideways.

"What _I_ always wanted," Amy indicated to herself.

"So? Isn't that the point of all this?" Sonic was getting angry himself now, his fur tingling. "I'm doing everything I can, Amy! For you! For all of—!"

"That's _exactly_ it!" Amy roared, pulling herself violently from his arms. "That's _precisely _what I mean!"

"You're making _zero_ _blasted sense_, woman!" Sonic yelled, quills flaring like an enraged spider in his passion. "I try _so_ hard to please you, and _this_ is what I get in return? Nice, _real_ kick-bombing, nice!"

"There you go _again_!" Amy screeched. "I have a mind to tear out your heart so at least you'll _listen_!"

"Buzz off! I could spindash you to pieces if I had the—"

"Nothing but an oversensitive—"

"—back-stabbing pink woman—"

"—and if I had a nickel for every time that—"

"—but you just don't seem to get that—"

"_**I'M DOING THIS FOR **__**YOU**_!" Both hedgehogs growled at each other at precisely the same exact second. Each then retreated to their opposing corners, ready to continue the battle. Sonic instead tried a different approach.

"What do you mean by that, Amy?"

The pink hedgehog, perhaps thrown off guard by this gentle approach, turned around and ran into his waiting arms. "Sonic, it's just that…" she sighed, "you do everything for us—you've _been_ doing—everything we want to do. And, honestly, that's just not who you are twenty-four-seven."

Sonic's eyes grew wide as a fly's and he opened his mouth to protest, but Amy cut in. "You're a great person, Sonic, with a heart of gold like no one else's. But you wouldn't be mortal without being a little selfish. I know you're dying, but…" Amy rested her head against his chest, listening to that golden heart beating beneath his skin, bones, and fur. "Be a little more like yourself. Run a little and enjoy yourself. Before long, you may not have the chance to."

Sonic felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Amy," he mused, his voice dreamy and already a thousand miles away, "you just set me free." And Sonic did what he was born to do.

He ran.

He ran all the way around his planet several times. He visited some of his favorite places. He picked flowers, enjoyed the smells of exotic foods, talked to old friends. He jumped over lakes, ran over oceans, and slid down the sides of snowy mountains. He learned the different time zones and memorized languages and customs until he was sick. He did everything he could to enjoy life.

And all because one girl had finally set him free.

* * *

><p><em>Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling <em>

_Do you feel my heart beating? _

_Do you understand? _

_Do you feel the same? _

_Am I only dreaming? _

_Is this burning an eternal flame?_

* * *

><p><em>Lyrics: <em>

_Fairyland-Angelzoom_

_Eternal Flame: The Bangles_


	3. Part 3: My World Without You

**My World…Without You**

Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles were having dinner together at Amy's house. Although it was more appropriate to say that Tails, Amy, and Knuckles were eating, and Sonic was trying very hard not to be sick. Besides being allergic to the steak they were having, he was starving on top of everything, and felt himself growing weaker as he watched his friends eat what he couldn't.

It was Wednesday evening, and Sonic had just returned from his around-the-world journeys. He was glad to be home, but he was dreading his necessary trip to the doctor's for a blood test later on today or tomorrow. He was trying hard to think about the doctor's office, the places he had been, the things he'd experienced—anything to get his mind off the food. His stomach growled loudly and he moaned like a ghost out of sheer weakness, burying his face in his folded arms, feeling a clamp begin on his throat, not only from his meat allergy but from his immense hunger as well. His spine tingled, and he sighed deeply, trying to draw himself out of this world and back in time, to another place…

"Sonic? Sonic, are you okay?" This was Amy, touching him gently with her gloved hand. Tails and Knuckles were silent, now, their food abandoned as they looked with worry upon their suffering friend.

Sonic rose from the table, trembling with weakness. He no longer cared about the clamp around his throat. He seemed only to feel his own hunger, and he felt selfish for doing so. He found that he was feeling nothing but pity for himself, and he sunk to the floor in a moment, so close to tears he feared if he didn't let them out, he would explode. "Shadow came to me," he said in a small voice. It seemed to echo throughout the quiet room, as if he were already a ghost, lingering where he would be loved for everything he was. "He…he showed me there were other ways. But…what do they call it—? Assisted suicide?" At the word, his friends gasped. Never had that word before passed Sonic's lips, and secretly, they were wondering if he'd considered it. "That never…" Sonic raised his eyes to look at his friends. They were moist with tears he wouldn't let fall, looking more unnatural by the second, as if he was growing thinner as he sat before them. "That never crossed my mind," he smiled weakly, it disappearing in a moment. "I wanted you to know. Even if I have to drown in the air, or starve to death," his voice jumped over itself as he drew breath in sharply, trying very hard not to cry with every bit of strength he had left. "I want to spend what little time I have left…with you. I…I never want to be alone—I don't _want_ to be a loner anymore. I've spent my life trying to run away from all of you, keep my distance. But, now I don't want to. And I'm sorry it took my death to realize that." His eyes flickered from Amy, to Tails, to Knuckles each in turn, and then stood slowly, his bones cracking. His fur, now fully at rest against him, betrayed his thinness. He looked like he was in pain, but at the same time, he was still the hedgehog they knew and loved. "I—I love you," Sonic could keep his tears inside him to longer. He hid his face behind his hands as he began to sob. "I love you all!" He cried.

Slowly, very slowly, three pairs of arms wrapped around him, embracing him. Two tails wrapped around his legs, making him feel secure. A head of spiny quills lay against his chest and reached up to kiss his wet cheeks. Two strong arms wrapped around his shoulders. All this as he cried bitterly, wishing selfishly that this moment never had to end.

And wishing, selfishly, that he could fill his stomach with the food he smelled. But this is not what made his tears come.

And so it went on and on.


	4. Part 4: Miracles Happen

**Miracles Happen**

_Miracles happen once in a while,_

_When you believe._

_-Source Unknown_

* * *

><p>Thursday afternoon. Sonic had just been to the Master Emerald when no one was there. When Knuckles was gone, waiting for him at Amy's house. Sonic was going to the doctor's today, and they were all going to accompany him.<p>

Sonic shuddered, staring at the giant, rotating gem. Then, he smiled privately to himself and touched it. The waves of pure life ran through him like fire eats kindling. He closed his eyes, almost ready to fall asleep. He could take it. He could take it all. He _wanted_ to take it all. For the sake of his friends. He pulled his hands away, feeling the life coursing through his veins. His heart beat pleasantly in his ribcage, and he took a deep breath, feeling strong.

Stronger than he had in days.

Still feeling this strength, Sonic was amongst his friends. Amy was feeding him, because this would help guard against a faint from blood loss. The soup was watery and not very full of substance, and Sonic was not enjoying it. He swallowed down the food without thinking about it. Tails and Knuckles were playing cards on the grass, watching the day fly lazily by.

"You sure eating will help, Sonic?" Tails asked, contemplating his hand of cards.

"I dunno if _anything_ will help!" Sonic admitted with a laugh. "But, it makes Amy happy."

Amy rolled her eyes. "This _will_ help. It'll keep you from fainting straightaway when you have your blood drawn."

"Ick, I hate needles." Sonic swallowed another spoonful. Silence.

"Wait a minute…" Sonic chose to chew his spoonful this time. "Hey! I recognize that taste!" He laughed aloud. "Kidney beans!"

"Huh?" Tails and Knuckles stared at him in confusion, and Amy set aside the soup.

"Oh, that's _right_, I'm sorry!" She apologized, flustered as she filled a glass of water for him. "They make your throat burn! I'm sorry, Sonic!"

Sonic frowned as he stood leaning against the counter. "That's just it, Amy," he mused, touching his lips with his glove. "I—it isn't bothering me at all!"

Amy stopped filling the glass full of tap water (which he was allergic to, anyway, and wouldn't have helped him) and adopted a stupefied look like her friends.

"Don't you get it?" Sonic laughed. "I can eat kidney beans! I'm not allergic to them anymore!" To demonstrate, he spooned another mouthful of watery soup and ate it in front of them.

"Wait…" Tails was slowly pulling the facts together. "So…you're better?"

"Maybe!" Amy cried.

"Only one way to find out," Knuckles announced, standing.

"Did everyone eat enough?" Sonic worried. "We could be there a while…"

"We're all fine, Sonic!" Amy reassured him with a kiss. Tails took his hand, lifting him easily off the ground. Knuckles jumped into the air and began to glide. They were all heading towards the doctor's office.

Sonic only wished he felt as confident as he sounded.

* * *

><p>Sonic was admitted to the doctor as soon as he arrived. The nurse gave him a once-over, checking his reflexes and blood pressure and heart rate and all that before the doctor came in with his clipboard.<p>

"So, Sonic," the doctor smiled, "what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, that's just it, doc," Sonic began before his friends, anxious around him like they'd been on That Day, could speak. "I—" He faltered, and began again. "I—I ate something I was allergic to, and felt fine!"

"Hmm…" the doctor chewed on the end of his pencil. "Well, we'll give you a blood test, and see if we can't figure this out, yes? Are you ready?" He walked over to the silver sink and prepared a syringe. Sonic swallowed when the doctor tapped the thin end of the needle and a clear liquid dripped down the side.

Sonic closed his eyes, terrified of needles, as the doctor pushed apart his fur. Sonic heard his friends gasp. He knew what they were seeing.

The doctor had pulled blood from the same spot on his arm every time, and as a result of constant puncture, blood loss, and malnutrition, the site had become bluish-brown, like a permanent bruise beneath the skin. He heard Amy begin to cry. _Be strong_, he thought, for her. _Be strong, Amy._

After the syringe withdrew with nothing but a teaspoon of blood, Sonic instantly felt woozy. The nurse instructed him to lie down, which he did gladly. He heard the paper crinkling behind him on the leathery cot-chair, and felt his friends draw nearer as the doctors went away. He felt Amy stroking his hand, and took comfort in that. His mind spun madly behind his eyelids, and he felt as if he'd never sit up again. The nurse came back in. Sonic and his friends watched as she produced a juice box and a snack pack of cookies from a tiny refrigerator.

"Here, Sonic," the nurse offered the things to him with a smile common of her profession. "These'll help put some sugar back into your system."

Sonic sat up, his vision blacking out as a result—which frightened him, making his heartbeat quicken and his body all the weaker—and accepted the food with a nod. He looked down at his hands, fumbling with the juice box's straw, and trying to puncture a hole with its sharp end through the foil. His limbs were incredibly weak that he couldn't do even this, so he was embarrassed when Tails had to do it for him, and looked away when Knuckles opened the bag of cookies for him. He nodded to them his thanks and sipped at his juice warily. He wanted to have hope, but that ability seemed to have been stolen from him. He wanted to have hope that he really _was_ better, that it wasn't just some sort of complicated relapse. He wanted to hope that he would live with his friends for another day, another week, another month.

Another year.

But, he couldn't hope. Because every time he tried to hope, tears came to his eyes. He could only think about Tails, sitting on the cot nearby to support him, Knuckles providing strength simply by standing by, and Amy's thumb, moving a constant circle around his cold palm.

* * *

><p>Sonic was lost in reflection, which is why he jumped when the doctor and nurse returned with his blood results, smiles on their faces. The blue hedgehog, his energy for everything, even excitement, drained, flattened his ears and waited for the news.<p>

But…why were they smiling? Had he another year to live? A bud of hope grew in Sonic, and he felt his emotions rising to the surface, ready to embarrass him once more.

"Sonic!" The doctor cried. "It's incredible! You're cured!"

"Wait…_what_?" Sonic spat out. _That_ wasn't something he was expecting to hear. Not that he wasn't thrilled, but…he was still so full of doubt.

"It's true!" The nurse handed the blood results to Tails. "The one on the left is the blood test from last week, and the one on the right is the recent blood test! You see how dissimilar they are."

Amy, Sonic, and Knuckles looked at Tails with baited breath. Tails studied the results, and nodded. "What she says is true, Sonic!" He confirmed, his eyes bright and alive for the first time in weeks. "You're really better!"

That almost made Sonic faint. He pressed a hand to the side of his head to keep this from happening as Amy squeezed him tightly, nearly breaking his ribs in the process. Tails gave him a gentler hug, and Knuckles clapped him on the shoulder. Sonic was stunned, but so happy. Hearing those words was the best thing that could've happened to him. He was speechless, as he hugged his friends back, and fist-pounded Knuckles.

"Of course," the doctor cleared his throat to show he wasn't done, and the celebration died down, with everyone's attention on him again. "Of course, the disease will probably take a while to wane from you completely. You may still feel sick while eating certain foods or being exposed to certain things. But, rest assured, you are cured. In addition, because this is such a miracle, we would like to keep tabs on your progress so we may help others to cope with this disease and to cure them as you have been cured. Is that all right?"

"Sure!" Sonic replied brightly, his voice hoarse and limp from tire. "Anything to help people!"

"Great," the nurse replied with a smile. "Welcome back to life, Sonic."

The medical professionals left, and Sonic and friends were left alone once more.


End file.
